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Young naturalist Erin and her brother Dwight intervene when beings from another planet try to drain a swamp and build a shopping mall that will eventually cover the entire earth

Gr 4-6 The new shopping mall is worry ing the store owners in town, but it has really upset Erin, a precocious ten year old, because the swamp she loves to ex plore will soon be paved over. In trying to find out more about the mall developers, Erin and her brother Dwight discover a dumpster in the swamp that is really a UFO. Galactic Mall Corporation goes from planet to planet, transforming each into a world-wide shopping mall. Dwight and Erin pretend to be employees of the alien company in order to discover who is in charge. Erin tries to get the president to see the value of nature, but her brother wins over the alien boss by showing him the fun of outdoor baseball. Strasser uses a straightforward, suspenseful plot to pre sent a subtle indictment of the modern shopping mall culture that has forgotten simpler pleasures and values. The mall workers are divided into managers and ``Betas,'' who lack intelligence and identi ty. Strasser implies that the shopping mall environment has made them this way. While it requires no more background than living in contemporary society, this story, like all good science fiction, will en courage readers to wonder where our world is headed. Carolyn Caywood, Vir ginia Beach Pub . Lib . Copyright 1988 Cahners Business Information.